Saturday, October 7, 2017

Freeways – Cold Front

Toronto’s heavy metal scene is great,
simply because so many of its members are as committed as possible to being
old-school, no matter how ridiculous that might be. Some of these bands are even still putting out VHS releases! This is why
it was no surprise to see some members of thrash metal band Droid put together
a 1970s-influenced, hard rocking group. “Cold Front” is the first demo from
Freeways, and it sounds exactly as you might imagine. Admittedly, this is a
little outside my element, but you don’t have to be an expert on Thin Lizzy to
see the talent this band has. The aforementioned group is an obvious influence,
but others like early Judas Priest, Riot, and Scorpions all creep into the
music occasionally. In particular, Freeways really nailed that 1970s guitar
tone, as the riffs are incredibly thick, but not overly distorted.

Much of the band’s music has a bit of a
bouncy feel to it. The riffs rock back and forth with plenty of enthusiasm,
particularly in the galloping closer “New Drag City”. The somewhat infrequent
use of harmonized guitars makes every appearance much more potent. Of course,
there are still plenty of guitar solos, many of which have a noticeable blues
influence. Despite the band’s heavy metal background, they avoid any more
modern metal tropes, leaving their sound distinctly in the 70s.

If Freeways has a weakness, it would be the
vocals. Their singer by no means has a world-class range. Instead, he limits
himself only to the essential notes. To his credit, he’s expressive enough to make
a believer out of anyone. Relative to some of the greats, however, he falls a
bit short. It’s not enough to detract from “Cold Front”, but as someone who is
used to more virtuosic singers, Freeways’ vocalist still stands out.
Regardless, this demo is an authentic homage to a time that has in many ways
been forgotten by a lot of metal fans. While there’s no shortage of tributes to
1980s Priest and Maiden, the generation just before this receives fewer
mentions. For this reason, Freeways is a breath of fresh air in the hard rock
and heavy metal scene, and well worth listening to!